I'm really surprised that this is even a debate. I thought that it was made blatantly obvious from Steve's actions/words that he was a virgin. I believe that Peggy was the first woman that he ever kissed for real (Natalie Dormer doesn't count, she caught him offguard).

I wouldn't call it an admirable trait of Steve's. But it is an admirable detail about about the movie. Pop culture has it that a woman who has sex is not good while a man who doesn't have sex is a loser or a weirdo. It's pretty interesting that they all but state that Steve is a virgin, but don't show him as less of a man for being so, not does it make a point of having him loose his virginity at any point.

I actually hope for the opposite to happen and they confirm he's a virgin.That'll drive the macho fanboys nuts.

Wouldn't drive me nuts at all. If he's a virgin, fine and dandy. Doesn't make him any better, or any worse, than anybody else out there who isn't one. I just think it's very naive to think that a grown man, especially a very handsome one who spends the bulk of his (short) adult life around tons of gorgeous women who literally throw themselves at him, wouldn't have taken the opportunity when it was offered.

Steve Rogers has never been portrayed as a monk; dunno why the MCU would feel the need.

Well I've said this before, but assuming if Black Widow's character isn't sacrificed in terms of quality when it comes to romantically pairing her up with Steve in this film, one of the reasons why I'm interested in seeing this aspect is that prior to this film, I never got the impression that Natasha would ever be interested or even capable of allowing someone to see the vulnerable/intimate side of her that lovers normally tend to share, so it adds a new layer for her character from my perspective.

I think Black Widow should settle down with a nice regular everyday normal guy. Like a doctor or something. I've always liked the scenereo of a powerful, capable, ruthless killer of a woman having a naive normal husband waiting for them at home. Sort of a juxtaposition of sorts. Like Vivica Fox and Uma Thermons characters in Kill Bill.

Too many times in stories and other media powerful , dangerous, capable men have naive innocent significant others. I find the reverse far more interesting personally.

__________________Tell your men they work for me now. This is my city...

I don't see why the can't do both. BW maybe being romantically involved with WS in the past does not mean that she can't be involved with someone in the present, since her relationship with WS is long over. And no, I don't think that it would reduce her as a character to have a love interest, as long as that's not ALL there is to her.

People could get more invested in the Bucky/Natasha relationship than Steve/Natasha.

How? In the long run, the Steve/Natasha pairing could get more audience investment since both of them will be in AoU as well.

But in the short run, people could get pretty involved with the sidestory of two reluctant spies falling for one another, especially given how Winter Soldier will likely be a sympathetic figure and probably would end the movie as Bucky.